Proclamation , vigil slated tonight at City Hall

The City of Bastrop will host a candlelight vigil and Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation signing honoring the survivors and and family members of victims at 6 p.m. tonight at Bastrop City Hall.Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior used to control and weld power over a partner, typically described as a cyc...

According to the Domestic Violence Resource Center, the common phases of abuse are:

• Set-up - The abuser creates and controls situations, in which the victim has no choice but to react in a way that will, in the abuser’s mind, justify the abuse.

• Abuse - When the time and planned circumstances are right, the abuser perpetrates the violence. The attack is a display of power and control over the victim and over everyone else in the household. Over time, the abuse worsens.

• Guilt and fear of reprisal - After abuse, the abuser may have feelings of guilt. This isn’t normal guilt, i.e. feeling sorry for hurting another person, but an expression of the fear of getting caught and held accountable for the abuse. The abuser may apologize, make excuses for the abusive behavior, pledge to never do it again and use gifts, promises and bribes as a way of assuaging the guilt and fear of reprisal. The real purpose is to silence the victim and prevent the victim from speaking out.

• Rationalization - The abuser states it is the victim’s fault. The abuser makes justifications of the abuse: the victim made the abuser mad, it is the victim’s fault, etc. This provides a justification for the abusive behavior and is used as permission to continue abuse in the future. The abuser denies and ignores personal responsibility for the abuse.

• Normal behavior - Between incidents of abuse the abuser often acts as if nothing happened. The victim is coerced to participate in the cover-up. The abuser threatens the victim’s credibility by saying thing like, “No one will believe you.” The abuser may also make subtle or direct threats, such as, “If you say anything, you will never see your children again.” Often, the victim is manipulated through guilt.

• Fantasy and planning - Abusers often fantasize about past and future abuses, which feeds their anger and propels them to begin actively planning their next abuse. The abuser may plan a future attack using excuses from the rationalization stage. The abuser also begins to set the victim up.

If you are someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the Bastrop Police Department at 281.1322, the Morehouse Parish Sheriff's Department at 281.4141 or the Louisiana Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.888.411.1333.